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The Chicago Fire and other Major League Soccer teams submitted their 11-player protected lists Monday in preparation for Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft for the Montreal Impact.

Among some of the Fire's noteworthy players left unprotected are forward Diego Chaves, midfielder Daniel Paladini, and defenders Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic and Yamith Cuesta.

Fire's 11-player protected list: Sean Johnson (GK), Cory Gibbs (D), Jalil Anibaba (D), Gonzalo Segares (D), Pavel Pardo (M), Logan Pause (M), Marco Pappa (M), Sebastian Grazzini (M), Orr Barouch (F), Patrick Nyarko (F/M), Dominic Oduro (F)

Unprotected list (available for Impact selection): Jon Conway (GK), Alec Dufty (GK), Yamith Cuesta (D), Dan Gargan (D), Steven Kinney (D), Josip Mikulic (D), Pari Pantazopoulos (D), Mike Banner (M), Michael Videira (M), Daniel Paladini M), Baggio Husidic (M), Cristian Nazarit (F), Gabriel Ferrari (F), Diego Chaves (F)

Exempt from selection (Generation adidas or homegrown status): Corben Bone (M), Kellen Gulley (F), Victor Pineda (M)

Impact head coach and former Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch certainly will have his share of player options to choose from.

Chaves came to the Fire with high expectations, but it is not too surprising that he was left unprotected heading into the expansion draft. Chaves had a good start and decent finish to the 2011 season with six goals. But Chaves went through a long goal-less stretch and saw his playing time dwindle.

Gargan was a key midseason acquisition for the Fire during the 2011 campaign, adding stability to a back line that was short on outside back options. His name typically was third on the midseason hierarchy mention, with midfielders Sebastian Grazzini and Pavel Pardo grabbing most of the attention. But Gargan filled the right back role quite well. His absence from the Fire's 11-man list probably stands out the most, so it would not be out of the question to see the 28-year-old Gargan bound for Montreal. Gargan has become a bit of an MLS journeyman since the Colorado Rapids drafted him in 2005.

There are a number of ways that Montreal could look upon the Fire's roster, and it appears that Chicago is most willing to part with someone on the defensive end. Along with Gargan, center backs Mikulic and Cuesta both posted plenty of starting minutes for the Fire this past season. The 22-year-old Cuesta had 18 starts and 1,681 minutes, and the 25-year-old Mikulic had 12 starts and 1,038 minutes.

Last year the Fire lost a pair of midfielders in John Thorrington (Vancouver Whitecaps) and Peter Lowry (Portland Timbers), and Montreal could go in that direction this year. Paladini is a viable option, having earned 16 starts this year for Chicago. University of Illinois-Chicago product and 2009 draft pick Baggio Husidic also was left unprotected. The third-year midfielder is coming off a season that included zero goals and two assists, but Montreal might see some potential if Husidic returned to the five-goal, three-assist performance that he logged in 2010.

The Chicago Fire have won four of their five past matches, but they will likely have to continue pushing on without midfielder Sebastian Grazzini.

Grazzini, who injured his hamstring during the first half of Chicago's 3-2 win over the New England Revolution, is expected to miss Wednesday's match at Real Salt Lake.

The midseason acquisition had a goal and an assist before his departure. Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas told MLSSoccer.com this week that Grazzini would not play against Salt Lake, which is coming off its worst loss of the season, a 4-1 defeat at D.C. United. Grazzini is listed as questionable on the MLS Injury Report.

Klopas likely will return to Baggio Husidic in the midfield for the Fire (6-8-15, 33 points). Husidic replaced Grazzini during Sunday's win over the Revs, and it will be a tough task to match Grazzini's skill set and activity.

"Baggio came in and my message to him was he's got to get the ball and make those passes like Sebastian," Klopas said. "At first he was looking to get behind more and left a little bit of a gap."

Fire defender Cory Gibbs will return from his one-game suspension. For the first time since Chicago's Aug. 27 win over the Colorado Rapids, the Fire will have all of their available defensive options.

On offense, Chicago has tallied five goals and benefited from an own goal in its past two matches against Chivas USA and New England. And for the first time this season with the Dominic Oduro and Patrick Nyarko pairing up front, each forward netted a goal against New England. Oduro's rolling right along with a team-high 11 goals, and for Nyarko it was his first of the season.

Everyone already is familiar with Nyarko's ability to set up players, as evidenced by his team-leading seven assists. But Klopas wants to see Nyarko become more proactive in attacking the goal.

"I've told him at times that he needs to be more selfish, especially now that he's playing on top," Klopas said. "When he gets opportunities as a forward, he's always looking to make that pass. But sometimes he needs to be selfish and finish plays off himself. I was happy for him. Whether he gets assists or getting a goal, that's great for his confidence."

"As a striker you've got to do that," Nyarko said. "But that's not my personality. That's not how I play. I look to play, I look to find people -- the easiest spot to get us a goal and to help the team win. Maybe sometimes I could be [more selfish], but I don't look at it from that standpoint. Especially like I missed a goal [Sunday] that I could have passed to Dom. But I think he was offside. If he wasn't, I would have passed it. That's my game. That's unselfish."

RSL's offense is lead by Alvaro Saborio, who has 10 goals and has scored in Salt Lake's past two matches.

Salt Lake (15-8-6, 51 points) has stamped a playoff spot, and it will take a dominating run and a Los Angeles Galaxy collapse for RSL to think about earning the Supporters' Shield. The Galaxy has a 10-point lead on Salt Lake and a seven-point lead on Seattle Sounders FC.

The pressure is all on the Fire this Wednesday. Chicago sits six points behind the New York Red Bulls who own the final wild card spot at the moment.

The Fire and Salt Lake played to a scoreless draw on June 22 at Toyota Park.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- In the midst of a four-game winless streak and only one point in hand during April, the Chicago Fire are regularly deciphering their shortcomings to turn around a poor start to the 2011 season. The Fire hover near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 1-3-2 record, with Saturday's game at the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids on the horizon.

Chicago's defense has been an obvious detriment to the team in recent weeks as the Fire have allowed 12 goals this year, which currently ties for second-most in the league. But the midfield also has been a growing point of concern.

In the Fire's most recent 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo, Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos made some changes to every line. That included the insertion of Libertyville native and center midfielder Baggio Husidic, who started for the first time this season. Husidic got the call over Michael Videira, though Videira eventually subbed for Husidic in the second half.

"Even though people criticize our center midfield for not being that creative, I think we have guys in there that on their day can do it," Fire midfielder Patrick Nyarko said. "Baggio is an excellent passer with the ball from midfield, but we just need to get more possession out there. It starts from the back all the way up front."

It is unknown if Husidic will immediately be brought back into the starting lineup this Saturday. The 23-year-old University of Illinois-Chicago alum was a regular who contributed on the offensive end with five goals and three assists in 22 games in 2010.

"He's been a player that shows his ability to score some goals and add a bunch of assists," Fire defensive midfielder Logan Pause said. "He's a box-to-box midfielder that can help not only on the defending end but help create things going forward."

"I think he's trying to gain his confidence back and his touch back," Nyarko said. "I was speaking to him before the [Houston] game and he's talking about how he hasn't played in a while and he didn't know how it's going to go and stuff like that, and I told him it was going to be fine. He knows how to play the game. It was his first game back [since the season opener], so let's see what the next couple of games hold. I think working himself back in, he'll be a dangerous asset for us."

Midfield shortcomings:
The Fire's production within the midfield has not been up to par this season, to say the least. The possession has not been strong. The creativity has been lacking. And that has led to some unattractive soccer during a winless streak.

"We obviously haven't had possession at most parts of the game," Nyarko said. "Either the center backs get under pressure and just whack the ball and not bring it up -- I have yet to figure it out. But it definitely shows in long periods of the game that we're not moving and not passing the ball along. I think that will come a long way to help us if we try to keep possession of the ball at most parts of the game. That's where we look the most dangerous, when we keep the ball on the move and try to create chances off of that."

"We're not getting the results, but that's not to say there are times in the game where we are putting some good soccer together," Pause said. "I think that's something we are focusing on, and some of that in time will take care of itself. We need to make sure that we're sticking with what we're doing, continuing to plug away and focus on the details, and hopefully the results will come."

Complementing front line:
The massive personnel turnover for a second straight season has something to do with things not meshing from time to time. But at some point the Fire need to create some regular flow between the midfield and forward lines to start digging out of this hole and string together some points.

In this past game, recent acquisition Dominic Oduro got his first start ahead of Uruguayan forward Gaston Puerari. Nyarko was on the same page with Oduro in terms of seeing eye-to-eye with passing and receiving the ball, but dependable Uruguayan forward Diego Chaves, who tends to drop back into the midfield, was not in sync with Oduro against Houston.

"Diego hasn't really had the time to play with him, and I know [Oduro] from a while back," Nyarko said. "He talked to me about how he likes to move and how he likes the ball to be played. I kind of looked for that, and being a quick player like myself, I know it's really dangerous to break defenses down.

"I think Diego builds a really great partnership with Gaston, and they know each other's movement and they try to play off each other a lot. I think a couple more games together -- and it all comes down to the lineup changes and all that -- [Chaves and Oduro will] get to know each other. Diego is a smart, clever soccer player. He's one of the best I've played with, and he'll learn the movements quickly."

Defensive compensation:
The Fire burned themselves in last week's game by falling into a defensive mode when they were clinging to a 1-0 lead. Preserving the win, rather than going for the win, had a trickle effect on every line. Several Fire players were noticeably worn out down the stretch, and the Dynamo tallied a second-half equalizer.

"I think we all shut down," Nyarko said. "I blame that a little bit on the mini-losing streak that we went on. We shut it down and tried to get that one-goal win. We all dropped back -- way back -- and we're just booting balls and they're coming straight back to us. When that happens, the forwards have a tendency of also dropping and not getting stretched out.

"We have to do a better job of pushing guys up and taking that risk, play like it's 0-0 instead of playing like we're 1-nil up."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire's current three-game losing streak is creeping into the realm of historic proportions if the team cannot turn things around Saturday when it hosts the Houston Dynamo at Toyota Park.

One more loss would put this stretch among only a handful of four-game Fire droughts, the most recent being a four-game skid in May of 2007.

"The mentality's always strong, but the confidence, we've lost a little bit of," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said Friday following training.

The Fire (1-3-1, four points) have had to rely on some of their younger personnel to shoulder the load this season. Second-year goalkeeper Sean Johnson and 2011 first-round draft pick and defender Jalil Anibaba thrust themselves into starting roles. But both have been prone to some big mistakes in recent matches.

De los Cobos decided before last week's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy to turn to 33-year-old goalkeeper Jon Conway, who will return to the starting lineup Saturday against Houston. De los Cobos said that Anibaba continues to maintain his starting right back role.

"I think patience is the key, for everybody," 12-year veteran Conway said. "A lot's expected of these young guys, but they are young guys. You've got to realize that being thrown into this sort of environment, this quick and as tough as it may be, sometimes it takes a little bit longer. For me, all I do is show up and train like I have for my whole career and just train hard, and maybe that translates over to them and they can take that from me. I have had a long run of things, fortunately, and maybe that helps them out with getting over what they have to get over."

The mentality within the Fire camp is that in most games this season, the team could have turned around its fate with more consistent play and eliminate some lapses on both ends of the pitch. In Chicago's losses to L.A. and Seattle Sounders FC, the Fire certainly had their moments to change the tone of both games and potentially garner some points.

"I think we're close," Conway said. "I think we're doing a lot of things well in spells and then showing a bit of our youth and not concentrating. We can get better all the way around, fine tune things and we'll be OK."

The Fire are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. Houston moved over to the East this season as the West brought in the expansion Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. The Dynamo sits in the upper third of the East with a 2-1-2 record and eight points.

Fire defender Cory Gibbs missed training this week and will not play because of a hamstring injury he suffered in the second half of Chicago's loss to L.A. Colombian Yamith Cuesta, who was acquired from Chivas USA, will get the start in Gibbs' place, playing to the left of Josip Mikulic.

De los Cobos also is pondering a change within the midfield, and Libertyville native Baggio Husidic's name has come to the forefront. De los Cobos said "it's possible" for Husidic to see an increased role. Husidic has seen limited action this year after scoring five goals last season.

"I might make some changes in the middle, because one part of the midfield I think we need to improve is the creation," De los Cobos said.

Houston enters Toyota Park having won its past two matches -- a 3-1 decision over Vancouver on April 10, followed by a 1-0 win against the New England Revolution last Sunday. The Dynamo defense has allowed only four goals in five games this season.

Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis is among the league leaders with three assists this season, and goalkeeper Tally Hall enters the weekend third in saves with 19.

Chicago acquired Dominic Oduro from Houston in exchange for Calen Carr earlier this season. Carr still is out with a concussion injury and has not played this year. Oduro tallied the Fire's lone goal during their loss to the Galaxy last week.

Last year's Chicago Fire squad was a middle-of-the-pack MLS team on the offensive end, scoring 37 goals in 30 games. But there were many dry spells along the way, as the offense was shut out seven times during the final two months and 10 times overall in 2010.

There were moments of strong possession, but the finishing was lacking, as was the cohesiveness from line to line. Since last October, many of last year's Fire players have moved on.

Arlington Heights native and U.S. Soccer legend Brian McBride retired. McBride's former Fulham teammate Collins John, who albeit had a disappointing three-goal showing, was released and latched on to Gabala FC. And in the midfield, the Fire lost some production now that Freddie Ljungberg (Celtic), Peter Lowry (Portland Timbers) and frequently injured John Thorrington (Vancouver Whitecaps) have departed.

This season the Fire signed a pair of Uruguayan forwards in Gaston Puerari and Diego Chaves, who have had only several weeks to get acclimated to the new club. Puerari saw more preseason action than Chaves, who had one of his matches shortened by a first-half red card.

"Diego is a very good player," Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic said. "Even though he might not look big, he's big on the ball. He's quick. He's not a typical No. 9. I'd say he's more of a 10, where he drops and gets the ball, plays it through the middle, attacks, and he's good one-on-one and good at passing. Gaston is more of a speedy player. He's really cheeky on the ball. They both complement each other. They kind of drop in and play like midfielders almost."

Until the Uruguayan connection can establish itself, the focal point of the Fire offense rests in the midfield, where Chicago returns its leading goal scorer in Marco Pappa and its leading assists man in Patrick Nyarko. Pappa had seven goals and Nyarko dished out 10 assists last season.

Their roles remain the same for this season, which starts on Saturday at FC Dallas. Pappa will need to assume the responsibility of being the Fire's go-to player. He had three of the Fire's four preseason goals during first-team matches.

"He's one of the best players I've played with, especially on the offensive end," Nyarko said of Pappa. "He's unbelievable. He's definitely one of our key guys to produce, and you've seen flashes of what he's capable of. He started the [2010] season really hot and was confident. It dipped a bit, but we all know his potential, and I know he has it in him to take on that leading role this year."

The Fire took an approach this offseason that stemmed away from getting big-name players and focused more on styles and characteristics that match the possession and attractive style that head coach Carlos de los Cobos and the Fire technical staff wanted at the beginning of last season.

De los Cobos is hoping the new mix of players will translate into more scoring chances.

"We need to improve the offensive work [from last year]," De los Cobos said. "We are working hard to create different moments to attack, and the most important thing is we have some guys like Chaves and Puerari, and young guys like Orr [Barouch] and [currently unannounced signing Gabriel] Ferrari who have qualities. I think it's only a matter of time to know each other and work with each other."

The Fire want to increase their offensive presence as they are going with a five-man midfield and two attacking players up top. De los Cobos wants to see offensive production from front to back.

"Everybody needs to be involved in this role," De los Cobos said. "When the offensive midfield is moving forward, we need to help the team with assistance -- with scoring, too. Even with dead balls, because dead balls are another tool where we can take advantage. Maybe the backs, when they are arriving to finish some corner kicks. I think we need to share our responsibility and everybody needs to be involved."

With only two seasons under his belt, Chicago Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic has stepped in comfortably following his University of Illinois-Chicago days.

The 2009 draft pick and Libertyville High School alum earned regular minutes in his second season last year, posting 18 starts in 22 games. Husidic tallied five goals, ranking third on the club.

And more will be expected from Husidic in his third campaign.

"Personally, I think I've progressed quite a bit," Husidic said. "Last year I sat on the bench coming from preseason and early in the season. So this year I've fought for a starting spot and thus far have been in the first 11. I'm hoping that the confidence keeps growing and I keep improving."

While Husidic and last year's Fire scoring leader Marco Pappa will be focal points in the midfield to produce offensively, the style of this year's team dictates end-to-end production.

"With this 3-5-2 formation, we're having to defend a lot more, so what happens is we have to push out to the outside backs, and we spend a lot of time defending," Husidic said. "So far it's been going well. I think there are a few things we need to figure out offensively and defensively, and that will come with time. We only had four [preseason] games to play the formation together.

"I think this year we have a lot more responsibility to create than last year," he said. "Obviously Pappa did very well last year."

The Fire brought in a new strength and conditioning coach in Tony Jouaux, and Husidic referenced that addition as an integral part of his increased role in the midfield.

"Last year we had a lot of injuries, so it's kind of hard to really get in the groove with that core group of guys when you always have a big player fall out due to injury," Husidic said. "We're really hoping this year that Tony can keep us all healthy and that we can keep the good core of guys -- six, seven guys on the field -- the whole time that can produce for the team. We're really hoping to have a complete turnaround from last year and get some results."

With only a three-man defensive backfield, the midfield group has put in a rigorous preseason.

"The outside and inside mids have a lot of doggies (shuttle runs) to do. It's hard," Husidic said. "Tony's been incredible in keeping everybody healthy and everybody's impressed with his work. He's going to set a good schedule for us so we can compete and be ready for every game."

As far as Husidic's take on turning around last year's 9-12-9 campaign, he pinpoints the combination of cohesiveness and clamping down defensively.

"I think last year we just gave up goals when we really didn't need to," Husidic said. "The guys were great last year, but I just think this year we're connected on a different level. Everyone's together and everyone's healthy.

"We've already created chemistry in the last month and a half we've had together," he said. "Pretty much the whole team is kind of a possession team. So we're hoping to play an attractive style of soccer this year and that the fans enjoy it. With the enjoyment obviously come results. You're not going to enjoy the game too much if you keep losing."

Chicago Fire forward and Arlington Heights native Brian McBride capped off his 17-year professional career with a stylish, world-class goal. McBride and Fire defender C.J. Brown each played in their final match as Chicago topped Chivas USA, 4-1, on Saturday at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Both players are retiring after memorable careers on the pitch. Brown has played for the Fire in all of their 13 seasons.

"Our guys played for the jersey and pride," Brown said. "It was a good effort all the way around."

On Saturday, McBride notched his 80th tally in MLS play, a back-heel shot in the 40th minute, as the Fire went on to score a season-high four goals. McBride was set up by Freddie Ljungberg, who had a goal and an assist for the Fire (9-12-9).

"Brian was a big player, a true professional," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "All the players want to leave in the last match like Brian did tonight, scoring a great goal and helping the team win."

Ljungberg did the brunt of the work to set up McBride's tally, getting past a pair of Chivas defenders on the right side, then crossing the ball toward McBride. McBride made his run toward the near right post within the goal box against Chivas defender Carlos Borja. As McBride fended off Borja, he took Ljungberg's pass and back-heeled the ball with his right foot, finding the inside of the far left post for a 1-0 lead.

The Fire added to their lead in the 47th minute with a Ljungberg goal. Peter Lowry sent the ball up and found Marco Pappa on the left side. Pappa beat Chivas' Mariano Trujillo one-on-one and sent the ball toward the penalty-kick spot. His pass bypassed McBride and Ljungberg struck the ball to the right set of the net for a 2-0 lead.

In the 57th minute, Giancarlo Maldonado's header goal cut Chivas' deficit to 2-1. Sal Zizzo sent the ball in from the right side, where he had plenty of space, and Fire defender Deris Umanzor did not get there in time to pressure. Maldonado got behind Brown and received the cross, heading the ball to keep Chivas (8-18-4) in the match.

But Chicago maintained some distance the rest of the way. In the 68th minute, Logan Pause sent the ball forward as Calen Carr was ruled even with Chivas' back line as he made the run forward. Carr, who replaced McBride in the 51st minute, had a slightly strong touch on the dribble and Thornton decided to come out to challenge. But Carr maintained possession, faked like he was going to send to Pappa and instead dribbled around Thornton and shot the ball into the empty net for a 3-1 lead.

Second-half substitution Baggio Husidic capped off the scoring in second-half stoppage time with a header to take a 4-1 lead. Pappa had the attack and forced Thornton to make the save. But in typical Husidic fashion, the Libertyville native and former University of Illinois-Chicago standout was in the right place to head the ball into the empty net for his fifth goal of the season.

Analysis: The Fire's key players stepped up against Chivas -- Ljungberg was incredibly active from start to finish. McBride had a solid strike. Fire defender Wilman Conde's header clearances were crucial at times, though on some occasions early on Chivas was able to generate some long shots from these clearances because the Fire midfield couldn't progress the ball further.

Most of the focus was on the Fire's retiring duo. Chivas' Jonathan Bornstein also said farewell to MLS as he heads to Tigres UANL of the Mexican First Division.

Lost in the shuffle was the return of rookie Fire goaltender Sean Johnson, who had missed three previous matches because of an eye injury. Johnson made five saves on the night.

So the campaign ends much earlier than normal for the Fire. There is no postseason. There is no winning record. There are now a pair of veteran players who will not be back in the fold.

For a second straight year, a busy offseason awaits for Chicago. Clearly, missing the playoffs for only the second time in the organization's history is a huge disappointment.

The Fire went out the right way on Saturday, but plenty of important personnel -- and perhaps coaching -- decisions await.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire are in the midst of a 2-0-1 month of August and they hope to maintain their momentum when they travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday at Robertson Stadium.

The Fire potentially could climb into third place in the East. The New York Red Bulls travel to BMO Field to take on Toronto FC earlier in the day on Saturday. If Toronto falls and Chicago wins, the Fire would take sole possession of third ahead of Toronto. A Toronto loss and Fire win would mean a third-place tie, with Chicago having played two less matches than Toronto.

The Dynamo typically is in the conversation when looking at the top teams in MLS. But that definitely is not the case this season.

Houston is 5-10-5 and carrying a 10-game winless streak on its shoulders. Its last victory was against D.C. United on May 22.

"We're going to play against a team that even though they're not having a great [season] as of right now, they are still a tough team to play," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said.

The Fire are coming off a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Wednesday at Toyota Park. Chicago had an early blunder but climbed back for the win.

Though the victory was not the prettiest, Chicago's recent upgrade in talent showed in spots on the pitch. Designated player Freddie Ljungberg had a standout performance against the Revs and defender Gonzalo Segares once again is a staple at left defensive back.

Midfielders Patrick Nyarko (concussion) and John Thorrington (quad) are questionable, but whenever they get back, that will only create more competition among the Fire roster.

"Our training sessions have been a lot sharper," Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic said. "Guys are competing for positions -- lot of good players here. We want to be sharp and that just kind of carries onto the field."

Houston never has experienced such a downfall in its regular-season history, and the bottom line is the Dynamo offense has not been coming through. Opponents have outscored Houston, 8-2 over its past five matches, and the Dynamo has only two shots on goal in its past two matches.

In Chicago's last three matches, the Fire have had a different goal scorer on all five tallies. Defensively, rookie goalkeeper Sean Johnson has been steady with 14 saves on 17 shots -- two goals allowed were Landon Donovan penalty kicks and the third was a one-on-one situation against New England's Marko Perovic.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Chicago Fire forward Calen Carr made his return a memorable one.

Carr netted a game-winning goal in the 85th minute as the Fire defeated the New England Revolution, 2-1, on Thursday in front of 14,056 at Toyota Park. The match was Carr's first since a scoreless draw between the host Revs and the Fire on Oct. 17, 2009.

Carr injured his quad at the end of this year's preseason when the team was in Mexico. But he slowly but surely has battled his way back, and Carr's goal gave the Fire (6-5-6) three well-deserved points against Eastern Conference foe New England (6-10-3).

"It's been a tough road where my quad would feel better, then it would feel worse, and then better, then worse," Carr said. "I finally broke through the barrier and I've been training for some weeks now. I feel great."

The front line made an aggressive run upfield during Carr's goal. Freddie Ljungberg fueled the attack and fed to Carr who surged ahead and cut to his right toward the middle of the pitch. He hit a low shot from just outside of the box and drove the ball past Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis, finding the left side of the goal for the game-winner.

"[Ljungberg] got the ball and I just drifted out wide to the left," Carr said. "I cut inside, and was originally going to go to the far post and saw the defender coming. So I decided to come back across the face of the goal. The rest ... thankfully it went in."

Carr's goal capped off a strong Fire comeback, after falling behind early because of a defensive mishap. It was Chicago's first win this season after conceding the match's first goal.

Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic tallied his fourth goal of the season in the 32nd minute to tie score at 1-1. Husidic's goal was typical of his other tallies -- right place at the right time when he faced Reis one-on-one, following Brian McBride's pass from the top of the box.

"Brian slid me in and I think the only option was either to go through the legs or chip it," Husidic said. "I went for the chip and it worked."

The win erased a blunder from Fire defender Wilman Conde, who has been prone to a few big mistakes during the season. He slipped when trying to change direction with the ball in the 16th. That parted the sea for Revs forward Marko Perovic, who dribbled around Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson and found the inside of the far left post for a 1-0 lead.

It marked the first goal allowed from Johnson in the run of play in the rookie's three MLS starts. Needless to say, Johnson could not do much to avoid the Perovic goal.

For the first time this season, the Fire's designated player duo of Ljungberg and Nery Castillo started together. It marked Castillo's first MLS start, but it was a mostly forgettable outing that included some unusual reads on some crosses from the right side. Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos decided to take him out after 45 minutes, going with Mike Banner in the second half.

Analysis: The mantra of Fire soccer over the past couple of seasons had been some positive advantages, but many times coming up short of a win or making a costly mistake.

It nearly held true until Carr completed Chicago's comeback. And while Carr and Husidic did get the glory on the scoreboard, it was Ljungberg who basically energized this team from whistle to whistle.

It is refreshing to watch the 33-year-old Ljungberg -- the amount of ground he covers from side to side and his energy level. Ljungberg played a big role in both goals. And then there were moments where Ljungberg generated some applause for simply his continual drive, such as the 49th minute. He had a good 15- to 20-second stint where he tried to get through several Revs defenders. And even when it seemed hopeless, Ljungberg somehow managed to get a corner kick out of it.

The Fire still are without a couple pieces of the roster, particularly midfielder Patrick Nyarko. Chicago compensated for Nyarko's absence, and Ljungberg is the man to thank for fueling the squad.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire will have their work cut out for them when they host the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night at Toyota Park (8 p.m. kickoff). Take away Colorado's U.S. Open Cup loss to the New York Red Bulls, and the Rapids enter the match with three straight wins in MLS action.

"They're in good form," Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic said Tuesday following training. "We've just got to make it difficult for them to play on the road -- play stingy defense, make those long runs out of the middle, and shut down their key players and attack their weaknesses."

Typically, those key players for Colorado (6-3-1) are Conor Casey and Omar Cummings. Both netted a goal during the Fire's last meeting in Colorado, a 2-2 draw on April 3. Cummings, however, has not scored a goal for the Rapids since, a span of eight straight MLS matches.

The Fire (3-3-4) ended a six-week-long winless drought this past weekend, topping the expansion Philadelphia Union, 2-1, on Saturday at Toyota Park. Husidic and Marco Pappa each netted their third goals of the season, and are tied for second on the team behind Brian McBride (four goals).

It wasn't the smoothest of matches, but Chicago got the job done.

"Sometimes we're losing our concentration and losing our order, but I think the last match we played better [compared to recent matches]," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "We need three more points to stay close to the other teams in our group at the top. But I think we're going in the right direction."

The Fire should have forward Collins John back, though the likelihood of him starting is slim because of the lack of playing time and training over the past 10 days or so. John missed the Union match and the May 30 international friendly against A.C. Milan because of an illness that the team did not disclose the nature of. John's lone MLS goal came against Colorado.

"Obviously he's an important player on our team," Husidic said. "He's working hard in training, getting in shape. He's feeling good, so hopefully he'll get the opportunity to do some damage [Wednesday]."

De los Cobos did not state Tuesday which direction he would go up front, but it will either consist of a two-man combination with target forward McBride and midfielder/forward Patrick Nyarko, or McBride as the lone option at forward.

The usual suspects are out for the Fire -- midfielder John Thorrington (quad), forward Calen Carr (quad) and defender Tim Ward (calf).

Colorado will be without midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, who was red carded during Saturday's 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew. The MLS Disciplinary Committee also tacked on a small fine Wednesday for failure to leave the playing field in a timely manner after striking Crew midfielder Steven Lenhart in the 76th minute.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire overcame a pretty unattractive stretch of soccer through the first 10 minutes Saturday and eventually ended a six-week-long winless drought. Libertyville, Ill., native Baggio Husidic and Marco Pappa netted goals to lead Chicago past the Philadelphia Union 2-1 in front of 14,658 at Toyota Park.

"They pressed us a little bit in the first 10 minutes," Husidic said of the young Union squad. "You've got to be smart. We don't need to play out of the back every time. We got a goal and settled in and started playing our game."

The victory was the Fire's first since April 24, when Chicago topped the Houston Dynamo 2-0.

"We came out knowing that anything other than a win is a failure," Fire midfielder Patrick Nyarko said.

Chicago (3-3-4) grabbed the match's momentum with Husidic cashing in on an easy scoring opportunity created by Nyarko in the 14th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Nyarko darted past the Union's Cristian Arrieta on the left side and made a right-footed pass with the outside of his foot past Danny Califf. Husidic ran into the middle of the box and shot to the right side of the goal.

"As soon as I took my first touch, I knew I had [Arrieta] beat," Nyarko said. "There was daylight in front of me. I tried to stay calm, not rush anything. Brian [McBride] made a great run taking the first defender away. I slipped it into [Husidic], and with [Union goalkeeper Chris] Seitz at the near post, all he needed was a touch."

In the 74th minute, the Fire added to their lead with Pappa's unassisted goal. The Fire attack started with Husidic on the right side as he crossed the ball into Justin Mapp. Mapp put a shot on goal but Seitz came up with the save. Philadelphia's defense scrambled unsuccessfully to try and clear the ball, and Pappa converged to strike the ball into the back of the net.

"I was going to hit it down the line near post, but Mapp stopped and I just hit him," Husidic said of the sequence. "[Mapp] hit a good shot, goalie made an incredible save. Pappa was there at the right time and finished it off."

In second-half stoppage time, the Union (2-6-1) kept the Fire on edge with Danny Mwanga's goal to cut Philadelphia's deficit to 2-1. But Chicago hung on for a much-needed victory.

Despite the Union's early push at the start of the match, Philadelphia did not put a shot on goal until the 69th minute. And that particular attempt was clear-cut that Sebastien Le Toux was shooting. Le Toux took a deep free kick and put it on frame. Fire goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra batted the ball away for the save, and the Union's following corner kick did not cause any damage.

Fire forward Collins John was unavailable because of an illness. The team is not releasing the exact nature of the illness, but it did force him to miss a some training this week and obviously a couple of matches.

ANALYSIS
Now that the winless stretch is over, Chicago can say that it finally put together a performance deserving of that W. Husidic's goal was clutch because once he struck, the Fire's confidence naturally improved, the movement on the pitch was much stronger, and defensively Chicago stepped up.

The Union were held to merely some passing moments after that early surge. Philly did land some chances toward the end, but for the most part Chicago held the Union offense at bay. Holding the Union to no shots on goal for nearly 70 minutes was a strong accomplishment for the Fire defense.

"We played with order," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "We were very solid defensively."

Pappa's play improved in comparison to some recent matches. He also nearly netted two goals on the night. In the 47th minute, his free kick hit the crossbar.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- For the second time in as many games, Libertyville native and Chicago Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic was the beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time.

Husidic scored a goal in the 53rd minute, but the Fire could not hold onto that lead as they played to a 1-1 draw against Chivas USA on Saturday in front of 13,224 at Toyota Park.

The Fire attack built up when Marco Pappa found Patrick Nyarko on the right side. Nyarko timed his run perfectly to create a big gap away from Chivas' defense. That forced former Fire player and Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton to come out of the net to try and slow down Nyarko. Nyarko delivered the ball across the box, and Husidic converged for his second goal of the season as his momentum carried him into the back netting along with the ball.

"He's having a good performance throughout these two matches," Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "He's becoming one of the top members of the team."

"Carlos is pretty disciplined on defense and offense," Husidic said. "I feel I've been doing pretty well on defense, and the reward is being able to go forward. I've been rewarded with the goals. ... I think overall the team is pretty pleased with me. Hopefully Carlos is, as well."

The Fire looked well on their way to holding onto the lead. But in the 76th minute, Maicon Santos tied the score at 1-1 when he drove his header past Fire goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra, off of Sacha Kljestan's corner kick. Santos got in front of Fire defender Wilman Conde for the header, and Santos placed the ball well away from Dykstra, who dove to his right.

Before Husidic's goal, both the Fire and Chivas created minimal chances in what felt like an incredibly drawn out first half. In the first 45 minutes, Chicago's most creative opportunity came in the 24th minute when Nyarko had a back flick to Husidic, who was making a strong run toward the right side. Husidic then delivered a solid cross around a Chivas defender and nearly connected with Brian McBride. McBride tried to one-time it in the air, but could not put his foot squarely on the ball to cap off a well-orchestrated attack.

Possession-wise, Chivas held an edge for the match. But the Fire had their chances, and they could have responded immediately after Santos' goal. In the 80th minute, Nyarko worked around Chivas defender Dario Delgado, briefly putting Nyarko in a 1-on-1 situation against Thornton. But Thornton came out and kicked the ball away.

"All I saw was blue [Chivas shirts], so I just tried to go for it, but I had no angle," Nyarko said. "I just hit it and hoped I would sneak in. Zach is so huge. He had everything covered."

The Fire were dealt some significant injuries heading into the game and during the match. Forward Collins John originally was penciled in during the pregame to make the start over McBride, but a left hamstring setback kept him out of the lineup.

"I couldn't really sprint. I wanted to give it a try," John said of his pregame. "On Thursday in training, I felt something in my left leg. When I stepped out today in warm-ups, it came back. It was a bit of a shock."

A similar setback occurred for midfielder Justin Mapp, who had to leave the match in the 22nd minute with a left leg injury.

ANALYSIS
The Fire were a far cry from their previous 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. But they held the lead and were in a strong position to take home another win.

The absence of Krzysztof Krol, who served his red card, did not really play a huge factor Saturday. Deris Umanzor played at left back, and while he didn't do anything significant on the positive or negative side of the scale, there was not a Chivas offensive play where he got burned.

Chivas' runs for the most part were not that threatening. They made some casual passes from a distance, but most of Dykstra's four saves were directed right toward him. The Fire had a lot of defensive maneuvering earlier this season, but the one thing you can say is that the back line has held its own. Dykstra has yet to come close to needing to put in a double-digit save effort to carry the team, and that is important in helping him progress as the No. 1 guy in the net.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The skipping record of the 2009 MLS season was the Chicago Fire's mediocre home record. The Fire managed a 5-4-6 mark at Toyota Park last season, and they would like to restore their home dominance right off the bat when they take on the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

"We're hoping this year that it will be very different," Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic said. "Last year it felt like our road games were our advantage. We were more successful on the road than at home. So I hope we can turn it around this year."

It was a frequent conversation for many reasons, but the Fire's five-win total at home -- which tied for second-lowest in the league with the New York Red Bulls -- did not sit well with the organization, the players and fans.

"A lot was made of it because we were tying a lot of games," Fire forward Brian McBride said. "The most important thing for us as players is not getting involved in the mental side of home-field advantage, and really just build off of the fans, rather than worry about what your record could or should be."

This will be the first home match for new Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos, who led the team to a 0-1-1 start on the road this season.

"I'm very excited," De los Cobos said. "We have a very big commitment, playing in front of our fans. I know they have big expectations of the team."

One element that might not have any bearing on the game itself, but is interesting nonetheless, is the return of goalkeeper Jon Busch. San Jose signed the former Fire goalkeeper shortly after he was waived by Chicago in a surprising move less than one week before the start of the 2010 season.

Playing against a former teammate is nothing new to McBride.

"That happens all the time in soccer," McBride said. "A lot of times you get kicked by your former teammate, and you're a good buddy. But that's a part of the game. I think everybody involved understands that."

Busch is expected to back up Quakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

In San Jose's lone match this season, the Quakes fell to defending MLS champion Real Salt Lake, 3-0. Chris Leitch was red-carded in the second half of that game and will miss Saturday's match.

The Fire's defense should be completely healthy for this match. Wilman Conde missed last week's 2-all draw against the Colorado Rapids, but he was taken off the injury report. In the midfield, however, Chicago is stretched a little thin with John Thorrington (questionable, quad strain) and Logan Pause (questionable, knee sprain) on the injury report. De los Cobos said Thorrington would not be ready this week or next, and Pause is a question mark for Saturday's match.

The Fire are 3-0-1 in Toyota Park home openers. The team expects to maintain that trend on Saturday.

Prediction: Chicago Fire 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Second-year Chicago Fire midfielder Baggio Husidic remembers where he was for the Fire's 2009 home opener.

"Last year I wasn't even on the bench. I was in the stands," Husidic said. "I'm a lot more excited than last year."

The Libertyville High School grad and former University of Illinois-Chicago standout could see extensive playing time this Saturday when the Fire host the San Jose Earthquakes at Toyota Park. He might even crack the starting lineup after coming off the bench the past two matches.

"That's what I'm hoping for every day," Husidic said. "I'm training hard and trying to get that chance and working hard to get more playing time. I can see it happening in the future."

There are a couple of setbacks in the Fire's midfield right now. John Thorrington remains out of the lineup with a quad injury and is not expected to be ready Saturday. And defensive midfielder Logan Pause has an injured knee, Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos said.

"Baggio's a good player," De los Cobos said. "He's not starting at this moment because Pete [Lowry] and Logan are [doing] good work. But it's possible that he will start if Logan is not ready to play. Maybe Baggio is the best option that we have."

Tapalovic on trial: Speaking of the midfield, the Fire are looking at defensive midfielder Filip Tapalovic this week on a trial basis. "The directors told me to watch him," De los Cobos told MLSSoccer.com. "We will have him for all the week, and after that we [will make] our conclusions."